How I Met Your Mother
by StarESP4Cat
Summary: Nick tells his kids about how he and Sara met.  There are also references to Sara's past.  Chapter 3 is up and running!
1. Prologue, Part I

How I Met Your Mother

Sara/Nick

Romance/Drama/Family

Nick and Sara's four kids learn about how they met as well as their mother's past.

A/N: I don't own the characters of CSI. If I did, Sara would be married to Nick and have at least two kids. Grissom would marry Lady Heather Kessler. I only own my original characters, in this case, it would be many.

A/N2: This story contains mentions of physical abuse, sexual assault, rape and murder.

Prologue, Part I

Tamales Bay, California April 14, 1984

Twelve year old Sara Sidle got home from school and started doing her homework assignments. When she was done, she played with her eight younger siblings while six of her older siblings helped their parents with the chores and the running of the bed and breakfast. She was the middle child of 17 (six boys and eleven girls) that included five sets of twins and a set of triplets.

On the outside, the Sidle family seemed to be stable and the pillar of their community. However, on the inside, the family was very dysfunctional. The matriarch, Laura Sidle, was a ticking time bomb that could explode at any given moment. Her husband, Richard "Rick" Sidle, Sr., had to work harder at the family's bed and breakfast to get some relief from his wife (who helped run the B&B). He was a caring man and a loving husband and father. He wouldn't dare lay a hand on their children, but his wife took out her frustrations out on him and them. He'd sometimes bear the brunt of Laura's abuse to save them from becoming the recipients of it.

After a dinner filled with loud conversations about school and the business, Laura threatened extreme violence on the kids if they didn't get to bed on time. Rick had had enough and wanted to take the kids with him. Behind Laura's back, he consulted with a divorce lawyer in San Francisco and told her that he wanted full custody of his children. No way would he allow Laura visitation rights.

"Laura, we need to talk," Rick said once he was sure the kids were all asleep.

"What the fuck you want to talk about, you weak bastard?" Laura asked seething with anger.

"It's about you, me and the kids. I want a divorce."

"You want what, you slimy prick?"

"I said I wanted a divorce. I had consulted with an attorney in San Francisco about it. I want full custody of the children. I'll make sure you don't have any visitation rights."

"Over my dead body you will! You will never have the kids!"

Laura stormed out of the bedroom and came back with a chef's knife she swiped from the bed and breakfast's kitchen. She started to lunge at Rick with it and stabbed him numerous times. With each stab, she shrieked 'you will never get our kids' and he screamed 'stop'. Even after Rick had died from the fatal stab to his heart, Laura continued to stab him until she collapsed from exhaustion.

Little did Laura know that Sara was still awake and listened to the whole commotion from the bedroom that she shared with three of her sisters. The preteen was laying in her bed and started to cry. Her older sister Bluebell, 14, and younger fraternal twin sisters Jana and Tess, 10, woke up to her crying and tried to comfort her. They didn't know that their world would be turned upside down.

The next day, Sara went to her parents' bedroom only to find a horrific scene. There was blood spatter on the walls, ceiling and the sheets. Her mother had passed out on the floor, but her father was lying dead on the bed. Her ear piercing screams woke her mother who confessed that she killed her father. Sara broke down and cried. Jason, 16, heard his sister's screams and entered the bloodbath filled room. He immediately ran out and called the police. He reentered the room and whisked Sara out of there.

The police arrived at the Sidle home and took Laura's statements as well as all the children living at the home. The crime scene unit went to work collecting the evidence. Rick's body was taken to the morgue. The two oldest sons, Ricky, 21, and David, 19, who were at different colleges were immediately contacted by the police about what had happened. The oldest, Ricky, offered some insight that would lead to arrest of Laura for the murder of their father.

After Laura was booked, she was promptly charged by the District Attorney with first degree murder. All the minor Sidle kids went into the foster care system and sent to separate homes. Only Sara and Jana went to the same foster home since they were close and didn't want to be separated from each other.

TBC


	2. Prologue, Part II

How I Met Your Mother

Sara/Nick

Romance/Drama/Family

In Dallas, TX, Public Defender Jillian Stokes learns about the Sidle case through the newspaper. Her youngest child, Nick is also intrigued.

A/N: I don't own the characters of CSI. If I did, Sara would be married to Nick and have at least two kids. Grissom would marry Lady Heather Kessler. I only own my original characters, in this case, it would be many.

A/N2: This story contains mentions of physical abuse, sexual assault, rape and murder.

Prologue, Part II

Dallas, Texas, April 16, 1984

Jillian Stokes sat at the dining room table eating her breakfast. She was reading the newspaper. As she read, an article caught her attention almost immediately. It was a national story about a woman in Tamales Bay, California with 17 children who snapped and killed her husband for asking her for a divorce. She felt sorry for the children ranging in age from 2 to 21 who lost both their parents. One was in the morgue and the other was in a holding cell at a county jail.

"Jillian, what's wrong?" a male voice asked.

"Bill, don't ever sneak up like that," Jillian hissed. "Don't you have to eat your breakfast?"

"I am sorry, but you were in deep thought reading the paper. What are your reading about?"

"In California, there was a woman who murdered her husband. They had 17 kids and now the minors are in foster care all because this woman."

Bill read the article and felt bad for the Sidle children. He and Jillian were happily married and had seven kids. True, it wasn't always easy, but they wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. When he read the names and ages of the Sidles, he gasped. Some of them were around the same age as his kids. His youngest child, Nick, was the same age as the middle Sidle child.

The four Stokes children who were still living at home full time came downstairs to get ready for school. Alexis, Tara, Billy and Nick joined their parents at the table with their breakfast. Nick looked at his parents with concern. Typically, they would have some lively discussions about some local news situation. However, it was just perplexing silence.

"Mom, Cisco, what's the matter" Nick asked.

"Pancho, you are twelve going on thirteen, old enough to understand what the world is about," Bill said. "Read this and tell us what you think."

Nick read the article and was intrigued. He passed it around to his siblings for them to read. He couldn't believe the cruelty that one woman inflicted upon her husband and robbed their children of their parents. He wished he could do something to help the children who were now in the foster care system. He especially wanted to help the one that was his age.

"Why do these children have to pay for the sins of the mother?" Nick asked always concerned about the injustices of the world. "Their mother killed their father and they have to be punished."

"Nick, that is the unfortunate reality that these kids have to face," Jillian replied. "I have defended people that have killed their spouses and their children are forced into the foster care system. I wish I could change it, but I am only one person."

"My social studies class is having a weekly discussion about current events. Do you mind if I take this with me to school?"

"Nicky, you are welcome to take it with you," Tara said after she finished reading the Sidle article.

After they finished their breakfast, Bill and Jillian went their separate ways to work. Alexis took her three younger siblings to school. Nick sat shotgun in the car while Tara and Billy were in the backseat. Today at school, especially in social studies, promises to be an interesting day. While on the way, Nick thought about the 17 children that he didn't know and probably won't meet.

TBC


	3. Sara and Jana in Dallas

How I Met Your Mother

Sara/Nick

Romance/Drama/Family

Nick talks to his kids about how he first met Sara.

A/N: I don't own the characters of CSI. If I did, Sara would be married to Nick and have at least two kids. Grissom would marry Lady Heather Kessler. I only own my original characters, in this case, it would be many.

A/N2: This story contains mentions of physical abuse, sexual assault, rape and murder.

Sara and Jana in Dallas

Las Vegas, Nevada, Summer 2030

Nick and Sara Stokes sat in the living room with their four children Bridget, 21, Vanessa, 18, and twins Nicholas and Stephen, 15. They were watching a forensics program on TV. Bridget, a double criminal justice biochemistry major who was home for the summer, and Vanessa, who just graduated from high school, were fascinated with the program. After all, it was what their parents did for a living. The concept was lost on the boys who could care less about forensics. Nicholas wanted to be an actor and Stephen wanted to be a lawyer like his paternal grandparents.

"Change the damn channel!" Stephen demanded.

"Shut up, Steve!" Vanessa snapped. "It is interesting! Go to your room if you don't like it!"

"Hey! Nobody's going anywhere yet!" Nick tried to keep the peace.

Sara had enough of the fighting between the kids and decided to shut off the television. Ten years earlier, she would have given them a lecture on respecting other people's opinions. Now, they were old enough to know better.

"Who wants to hear the story about how your mom and I met?" Nick asked hoping the kids wouldn't mind listening to it again.

"Dad, we know that you met mom after tossing those dummies off that hotel roof," Nicholas protested.

"Actually, we met years earlier than that," Sara interjected.

Dallas, Texas, October 1986

Fifteen year old Nick Stokes rode his favorite horse around the family ranch. Football practice ended and he didn't want to do his homework right away. His mother was rather annoyed that he prioritized horseback riding over his academics. She concluded that he was a teenager and that he would grow out of this phase and fast. Horseback riding seemed to calm him down after a grueling practice session and he wanted to be refreshed when he did his homework.

Today, he and Billy were left alone while their mother went to their next door neighbor's house and their father was still working late at the DA's office. She heard that they had just acquired two new foster kids. Her curiosity had piqued and wanted to meet them. Sometime later, Jillian returned home with two teenage girls so they could meet her two sons. Nick immediately got off his horse and returned her to the barn after seeing the girls.

"Who are these girls?" Billy was the first to ask.

"Boys, this is Sara Sidle and her younger sister Jana," Jillian introduced them to her sons. "Girls, these are my sons Billy and Nick."

"Nice to meet you," the kids said to each other as the sisters exchanged handshakes with brothers.

"Sara and Jana had just arrived at the Wilsons. They are their newest foster kids."

"We are actually from California," Jana said.

"Where in California are you from?" Nick asked.

"We were originally from Tamales Bay," Sara replied.

"Wasn't your father murdered by your mother?" Billy asked. "You and your 15 siblings were put in the foster care system. We read about it in the newspaper."

"Our mother killed our father two years ago. She is now serving a life sentence in a California prison. We were split up in the system. Sara and I don't know where our other siblings went. We hadn't seen them since the trial."

"How old are you?" Billy asked.

"I had just turned 15 last month," Sara answered. "Jana is 13. How old are you?"

"I had just turned 18 and Nick is 15, just like you, Sara!"

"Sara, are you going to enroll in Dallas North High School? That's where Billy and I go."

"Shut up, Nicky! Your hormones are acting up. You had just met Sara and Jana."

"We had actually arrived today so Mrs. Wilson has yet to enroll us in school."

Jillian caught Billy slapping Nick in the arm.

"Boys, is there something you would like to share with the girls before they return to the Wilsons?" she asked. "I just wanted to introduce these two wonderful girls to you."

"We have a horse farm with nine horses," Nick added. "If you girls would like to come riding with us, you let us know."

"Sara and I would really love that," Jana smiled. "Would we, Sara?"

"That would be totally awesome," Sara agreed. "Nice to meet you."

"The same here!"

After Jillian took the Sidle sisters back to their foster home, she asked her sons what they thought about the Wilsons' new charges. She knew that Nick was smitten with Sara, but Billy wasn't sure what to think of his new neighbors.

Sara was enrolled in Nick and Billy's high school while Jana was in Dallas West Middle School. Nick was in a few of Sara's classes, but while she took French, he studied Spanish. After school and the Stokes boys' football practice, the Sidle girls found themselves horseback riding with the Stokes brothers. They had fun and it helped Sara and Jana take their minds off of being somebody's foster kids. The two girls had eventually met Billy and Nick's five older sisters.

Sara had fallen in love with Nick. However, deep in her mind, she wasn't sure how long she and Jana would stay in Dallas until they were sent off to another foster home. She decided to make the best of it while it lasted. She and Nick had reserved Saturdays and Sundays after church as their date days. Neither Nick's parents nor the Wilsons thought school nights and Friday night football during the season were appropriate for them to date. The two teenagers looked forward to date weekend. Jillian and Mrs. Wilson took turns chaperoning the young couple, but careful to give them some space.

Dallas, Texas, November 1987 – The Weekend Before Thanksgiving

Tonight's date, Sara noticed that Nick was staring out into space. She was filled with concern and she would have to talk to him.

"Nicky, what's the matter?" Sara asked.

"Can you keep a secret?" Nick answered with one of his own. "You cannot tell anyone what I am going to tell you. You have to promise me that you will take what you know about this with you to your grave."

"Nicky, I promise, but you are scaring me."

"When I was nine, I was left home alone with a last minute babysitter. My parents had a fancy dinner sponsored by the Texas Bar Association and my siblings hung out with their friends. I had no plans, just homework, so I was stuck with this babysitter. I was asleep since it was a school night. Without warning, I woke up feeling a cold hand feeling under my pajama bottom and underwear. She felt around my penis and it freaked me out. I screamed and begged her to stop touching me. She kept at it for some time until she got bored. I couldn't sleep after she played with me like that. I sat in the dark and stared at the bedroom door waiting for my parents to come home. I had never told anyone about what happened. You are the first one I told."

"Nicky, I am so sorry to hear about what happened to you. You are such a sweet and dependable guy. You didn't deserve to have some evil babysitter sexually molest you like that. I won't tell anyone, but I think you need to tell your parents. Your dad is the DA and your mom is a Public Defender. They would have done everything within their power to catch this monster."

"I can't! I am afraid that they wouldn't believe me and they'd hate me."

"They love you and care about you a lot. I have a feeling that your mom is concerned. Just think about it! I am glad that you at least told me."

"Okay, I will. Come on, let's not dwell on this. We are supposed to have fun today."

Dallas, Texas, July 1988

Sara Sidle rode her favorite horse at Stokes Ranch. She felt depressed ever since she got the news. She didn't know what she was going to tell Nick. They became so close and telling him what she found out was going to break his heart. It was just devastating.

"Hey Sara, what's wrong?" Nick asked as Sara dismounted her horse.

"Jana and I have been uprooted!" Sara angrily replied. "We are going to another foster home! I don't know where we are going, but we are leaving next week!"

Nick immediately pulled Sara into a hug. This was just heartbreaking. Sara and Jana were treated kindly by the Wilsons and they adored their foster parents. The Wilson family offered the Sidle sisters the loving stability they had craved ever since they entered the foster care system. Unfortunately, they couldn't be adopted due to the fact that Jana was already 15 and Sara was almost 17. Families were supposed to adopt infants and toddlers, not teenagers. It was just unfair!

"Nicky, my sister and I had made plenty of friends here," Sara wept. "Jana and I each have boyfriends. This fucking sucks!"

"I don't know what to tell you," Nick replied in a soothing voice. "The system sucks and I wish that the laws and policies would change to allow the Wilsons to adopt you and Jana. I am going to miss you a lot!"

"I'll miss you, too, Nick!"

Sara and Jana's final week in Dallas was filled with time with the Wilsons and the Stokes. Nick made sure that he and Sara had plenty of good times when they were together. When it came time for Sara and Jana to leave, Nick gave them his contact information. He wasn't sure if he would hear from them or not. Before a woman came to get the Sidle sisters, Nick had Sara in a tender embrace until it was time to say goodbye.

Once Sara and Jana left, Nick sat at the porch and he cried. Jillian comforted her youngest son as she persuaded him to go inside the house.

Las Vegas, Nevada, Summer 2030

"I can't believe the system is fucked up!" Bridget protested. "Why couldn't they have let you and Aunt Jana stay with that loving family in Texas instead of being shuttled off to that awful place in upstate New York?"

"Well, that's the system, sweetie," Sara said.

"Did you and dad keep in touch prior to the reunion?" Stephen asked.

"We made an effort," Nick replied. "Unfortunately, we had lost touch for many years until a woman named Holly Gribbs managed to bring us back together."

TBC

Post Chapter A/N: Reviews are very much appreciated!


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